Under the British Minigolf Association competition rules, mini golf is strokeplay over 18 holes a round: every stroke counts and the lowest total wins. If your ball isn't in the cup after six strokes, you stop and score a seven for that hole.
These are the BMGA competition rules, January 2026 update, as of November 2026; the version line inside the document says October 2025. They're written for BMGA tournaments, not a holiday course, so the course you're on may well run its own house rules. The BMGA is the UK's governing body for minigolf, which covers both adventure golf and crazy golf, and it aims to line its rules up with the World Minigolf Federation (WMF) wherever it can.
Equipment: the putter and the ball
You can use a minigolf putter, an ordinary golf putter or one loaned by the course. No other golf club is allowed. The putter can't have aiming gadgets, though notches or lines on the head are fine. If it gets damaged during normal play, you can borrow another minigolf putter, if there's one available, or use a course putter to finish the round.
Balls must be WMF approved, and you can bring your own as long as it's on that list. Clubs running their own open events can limit how many balls you use or say which ones. The World Crazy Golf Championships are the one exception: everyone there plays the official ball for that year's event.
Playing a hole, stroke by stroke
- Wait until the last player in the group ahead has played the hole and left the playing area.
- Play your first stroke from within the specified teeing off area.
- Address the ball with the putter held in both hands. You're treated as ready once you begin your backswing, and brushing the ball before that doesn't count as a stroke.
- Take your shot within forty five seconds, timed from when the ball is on the tee or, for later shots, comes to rest. Players with physical disabilities are the exception.
- Move the ball only with a stroke of the putter, and only once it's at rest.
- Keep going until the ball comes to rest in the cup, or until you've played six strokes.
While someone's addressing the ball, everyone else in the group, including a non-playing scorer, stays still and quiet until the stroke is done. For safety, others should stand at least one and a half metres away where the course allows it. Only the player taking the shot may step on or touch the playing area, and two balls can't be in play on one hole at the same time.
Practice is tight. If the tournament rules allow it, you get one practice putt at the hole where you begin your round, and it doesn't count. That's all: no other practice strokes, and no rolling the ball on the playing area to test the pace.
Relief from walls, obstacles and pipes
| Where the ball stops | What you can do | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Against or near the hole's boundary, or alongside an obstacle, plateau or slope | Move it up to twenty centimetres away, at ninety degrees | None |
| Near an obstacle in any direction | Move it up to thirty centimetres away, at ninety degrees | None |
| Inside a pipe | Place it up to twenty centimetres from the pipe's exit | None |
| Outside the playing area | Place it inside at the point where it left, using the same relief | The stroke counts, nothing extra |
| Moved by wind after coming to rest | Put it back where it first stopped | None |
| Damaged beyond play, or lost | A referee can agree a replacement, played from the last resting spot or exit point | None |
Relief comes with conditions. You move the ball by hand only, and you can't use relief to create a line of sight to the hole that didn't exist where the ball stopped. If a ruler is provided, you must use it unless a referee has said otherwise, for example for a player who needs an adjustment for a disability or health issue.
You can clear leaves and sticks from your line, but you can't use any object as an aiming device. To clean your ball, mark its spot with a coin or your putter blade first, then lift, clean and replace it before removing the marker. You finish each hole with the ball you started it with. Most courses also have hole-specific rules, which the tournament director announces before play starts.
Scoring, the seven cap and play-offs
Every stroke counts. After six strokes without holing out, you stop and score a seven, so seven is the most any hole can cost you. A ball that drops into the cup and bounces back out isn't holed. The winner is the player with the lowest aggregate total.
For a BMGA strokeplay ranking tournament, the event has to run to at least 36 holes for a one-day event or 90 holes for a two-day event. If a course has fewer than 18 playable holes, the tournament director picks which holes are played twice to make up the 18.
Ties for 1st, 2nd or 3rd go to a sudden death play-off. It starts on hole 1 and carries on through the holes in order until the scores differ. A coin toss decides who plays first on the first play-off hole, and the order alternates after that.
Scorecards and who keeps score
You don't keep your own score. The last named player on the card scores for the first, the first for the second and the second for the third. A group of two scores for each other, and nobody ever plays in a group of one. The exceptions are players with disabilities, bad weather and infection control.
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- Each stroke is entered on the card straight after the hole.
- A wrong entry is crossed out so it's still readable, with the correct score written beside it and initialled.
- At the end of the round you total your own score and the one you're keeping.
- Hand the card in as soon as you finish. No corrections can be made after that.
If a ruling's in doubt, ask the experienced player in your group first, then a referee. Smoking, vaping, alcohol, hot drinks and food aren't allowed on the course, and phones stay on silent. Referees can give warnings for slow play and, for later offences, award penalty shots.
Strokeplay and matchplay compared
The BMGA also runs matchplay tournaments, which don't count for ranking points. The rules are the same except that each hole is won, lost or drawn: the lower score wins the hole, and you can concede a putt to your opponent. In singles a coin toss decides who starts, and the first player then alternates hole by hole.
How I'd use these rules at home
I'd borrow three rules for any family round, even on a holiday course: the seven cap after six strokes, the ball has to stay in the cup to count, and somebody else keeps your score. They keep the pace up and settle most of the usual disputes before they start. I'd also borrow the out of bounds rule, back in where it left with the stroke counted and nothing extra.
I'd skip the forty five second clock, the ruler and the play-off procedure unless you're entering a BMGA event; they're there for tournaments. If you enjoy the putting side, the full golf rules are the natural next step, and croquet is another garden game built on angles and aim.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum score on a mini golf hole?
Seven. If the ball isn't holed after six strokes, the player stops and scores a seven.
What clubs can you use in mini golf?
A minigolf putter, a golf putter or a putter loaned by the course. No other golf club.
How long do you have to take a mini golf shot?
Forty five seconds, starting when the ball is on the tee or comes to rest.
What happens if your mini golf ball goes out of bounds?
It's placed inside the playing area at the point of exit, the stroke counts, and there's no extra penalty.
How is a mini golf tie decided?
Ties for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place go to a sudden death play-off starting on hole 1.
